1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a holder for a rifle for mounting the rifle on a wall section, in particular inside a vehicle, with at least one front and at least one rear retainer for securing the rifle at a respective front and rear rifle section--as viewed in the direction of the barrel. The invention also relates to a kit for assembling such a holder.
Transportation of rifles especially in motor vehicles can cause a problem that the rifle(s) must, on one hand, be securely attached without taking up much space and must, on the other hand, be quickly removable from the holder when needed, for example inside military vehicles. Known rifle holders do not satisfy these requirements, mainly as a result of the strong vibrations which an automobile is subjected to in open terrain.
2. Description of the Related Art
From U.S. Pat. No. 1,837,939 there is known a rifle stand of the type described above which is mounted on the outside of a vehicle body. However, the known rifle stand is only capable of receiving the rifle in one specific position, namely vertically, and is furthermore only adapted for a certain type of rifle.
DE-PS 29 25 186 also describes a holder for a weapon which can be mounted inside an automobile, wherein the weapon holder has a front retainer for inserting the rifle barrel and a rear retainer enveloping the gun-stock at the transition to the rifle neck. With this design of a rifle holder, the rifle can advantageously be secured to a wall only in an essentially horizontal position, with the front gun-stock tilted slightly downwards. In any other orientation, the rifle would not be retained safely. If the rifle is secured, for example, in an upright position, then strong vibrations can cause the front gun-stock of the rifle to disengage from the front retainer, thereby causing the entire rifle to break away from the holder.
Moreover, DE-OS 22 63 726 describes a safety stand for rifles wherein several rifles can be stored like in an magazine, such as a weapons depot. Because of its size, this rifle stand, too, is not particularly suited for a flexible installation, especially not for mounting in a vehicle.
The common feature of these holders is that each type of holder and each type of rifle require a specific--specially adapted--holder.